NASCAR: Kyle Busch makes not-so-subtle recruiting pitch
By Asher Fair
Kyle Busch has made an apparent attempt to land sponsorship from Busch for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, once Kevin Harvick has retired.
2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick announced before the 2023 season began that it would be his final season in the sport, bringing an end to a 23-year career and a 10-year stint with Stewart-Haas Racing.
This means that longtime sponsor Anheuser-Busch is also assessing their future, having spent the last decade with Harvick and Stewart-Haas Racing as a primary sponsor of the No. 4 Chevrolet/No. 4 Ford.
Busch, which is one of the four cornerstone brands that have served as Premier Partners of the NASCAR Cup Series since the sport shifted to this new sponsorship model ahead of the 2020 season, could be looking to join a new team and driver in 2024.
Following a report that that they are in discussions with multiple teams about their plans for next year, Kyle Busch had a message he wanted to relay to the brand.
https://twitter.com/KyleBusch/status/1631110587567550464
With longtime primary sponsor M&M’s leaving the sport and his No. 18 team, Kyle Busch left Joe Gibbs Racing after 15 seasons and joined Richard Childress Racing ahead of the 2023 season.
In just his second race behind the wheel of the No. 8 Chevrolet on Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, he found victory lane, breaking a tie with Harvick for ninth place on the all-time wins list and breaking Richard Petty’s record with his 19th straight winning season.
Despite the fact that lack of sponsorship was said to be the root of his departure from Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch’s No. 8 team is pretty much sold out on sponsorship for 2023.
But that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be looking ahead, which is what he is doing by making the simple observation that his last name matches that of the brewing company that will, in some way, need to make a relatively significant change in 2024.
The pitch makes even more sense now than it would have one year ago, since Kyle Busch is now the only Busch competing full-time in the Cup Series.
As you can see on the Fox scoring graphic, “Ky Busch” is now simply “Busch”, as Kurt Busch retired from full-time competition last year after suffering a head injury in a single-car qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway back in July.
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Kurt Busch, who remains tied to 23XI Racing, hasn’t ruled out competing in select races from time to time, but more than seven months later, he still hasn’t been medically cleared to return. Kyle Busch has never been the only Busch in the Cup Series, as Kurt’s career began back in 2001. Kyle’s started in 2004.